Welcome
Our hearts and prayers go out to the loved ones who have been lost, and the worldwide family circle that has been affected during this tragic disaster.
LISTING OF AGENCIES
ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR
v Yele Haiti -- The Haitian-born Wyclef Jean, who grew up near East Orange, called the earthquake a "natural disaster of unprecedented proportion," His non-profit is donating $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund to those who text "Yele" to 501501 (the charge appears on your cell phone bill).
v American Red Cross -- Text "
v AmeriCares - AmeriCares gives disaster relief and humanitarian medical aid to people in crisis in the
v Doctors Without Borders has set up teams in
v Haitian League -- Founded, in 2003, the nonprofit headed by Union Township-based Haitian native is also active in hurricane relief efforts.
v Haiti Solidarity Network -- A networking organization that brings together Haitians in
v To find out how to help the International Rescue Committee, visit www.theIRC.org or call toll free, 1- 877-REFUGEE.
v To donate through Oxfam's emergency appeal, visit www.oxfam.org.uk
v UNICEF -- UNICEF U.S. Fund, which helps children around the world, is accepting donations on their website.
Haitian Relief suggestions from the Mayor’s office
We wanted to e-mail you about the Haitian Earthquake relief effort. As with any major emergency we encourage anyone wishing to contribute to relief efforts to give cash to disaster relief organizations such as Network for Good. You may also make donations through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which will be directing contributions to organizations working in the affected areas.
Making a financial contribution to a volunteer agency involved in disaster relief is often the most sensible and efficient way of helping people in need after a disaster:
- Relief agencies will often spend the money in the local disaster area thus helping the local economy get back on its feet.
- Cash donations avoid the complicated, costly, and time-consuming process of collecting, sorting, packing, transporting, unloading, resorting, storing, repackaging, and distributing donated goods.
- Cash donations allow relief agencies to make purchases that precisely meet victims' needs or to provide vouchers for people to purchase what they need.
- Cash donations to recognized relief organizations are tax deductible.
Local Relief Efforts
v The Salvation Army--- Accepting monetary donations only.
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HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FRAUD ALERT
PSA 5 wanted all constituents to know they can also contact PSA 5 should they want to make any donations regarding the relief efforts. Apparently there have already been some scam artists taking donations. For more information, call: (212) 860-3179 01/13/10—The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause. Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:
§ Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
§ Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
§ Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
§ Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
§ Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
§ Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.